


Awkward Tension

by IWSTW



Category: Super Paper Mario (Game)
Genre: Gen, Trans Male!Nastasia
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-27
Updated: 2018-01-27
Packaged: 2019-03-10 08:54:55
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,605
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13498716
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/IWSTW/pseuds/IWSTW
Summary: There's a bench in Flopside that Nastasia always stops at to collect his thoughts. However, he didn't know that there's someone else who frequents that bench, someone that he doesn't have the best past with.Today, they run into each other.





	Awkward Tension

**Author's Note:**

> hey so nastasia is a trans man in this, so i use he/him. its not important to the story, and him being trans isnt addressed at all
> 
> anyways. enjoy

As strange as it may sound, the back areas of Flopside were always calming to him. Maybe it was the silence he found that allowed him to stop and just think. In this particular area, there was an old, rusty bench. It was ready to collapse any second, yet he still liked to sit on it, which was very different from how uptight he used to be. Not to say that he wasn't uptight anymore, but Nastasia had finally loosened up a bit.

He took a deep breath, then slowly released it. As always, his thoughts would first drift to the events of last month. It felt like it had been years since the whole Chaos Heart ordeal, such a distant memory. Yet, fragments of it still felt vivid and fresh in his mind. As time passed, he was slowly moving on. It hurt, but then again, who _wasn't_ hurt by all of that? And he did some of the hurting too, of course, to everyone around him.

Nastasia broke out of his thoughts when he heard someone walking. He stiffened up a bit, and listened closely. The footsteps were coming this way. No idea who it could be, he still straightened his shirt and corrected his posture. First impressions were everything. Before the person appeared, he decided to look a bit away and not be immediately staring at them.

“Ah...!”

He then looked over, preparing to greet them. That didn't happen though, once he realized who it was.

“You...” Their voice was quiet, barely audible. “...My bench...”

He scanned them up and down, just to make sure this really was who he was thinking of. Brown shoes, overalls, and a green cap. Alright, this was definitely Luigi.

Nastasia cleared his throat. “Hello, Luigi.” He gave a slight nod as he spoke.

“Um, hey!” Luigi attempted to smile, but he was too shaken up.

While he did not remember any of his time as Mr. L, he remembered the before and after clearly. Even though everyone made up with each other, he always seemed to avoid Nastasia. Both parties were wary, though Nastasia just felt bad for what he did, and never got a chance to personally apologize since Luigi was avoidant.

“...How are you?” Nastasia asked.

“Oh, you know...existing...Uh, sorry, I'm fine, really!” Luigi wasn't very good at talking when he was nervous. “How are- how are you?”

“I'm doing well.”

A silence passed.

Nastasia spoke up. “Is this your bench?”

“Huh?”

“If so,” Nastasia stood. “I'll leave.”

“What are you—“ Oh, that's right. He said “my bench” out loud. “Oh, um, I just like to sit here sometimes. You know, collect my thoughts and all that...”

“Really? That's why I was here.” He didn't add that he usually came when he was stressed.

More silence passed.

Nastasia thought that perhaps he could take this opportunity to apologize to Luigi for what he did in the past. He'd have to wait for the right moment though. “Do you mind if I stay here?”

“...Sure, I guess, I'll come back later,” Luigi said as he turned to leave.

“No, you can sit too.” His voice came out a bit more stern than intended.

Luigi, somewhat frightened by that tone of voice, immediately sat down. He glanced over and away a few times before opening his mouth to speak. “I think—“

“I'm sorry for using you and turning you into a minion.” It came out as moreover a blunt statement.

Luigi froze in shock, but once he inhaled he began to choke on his own spit. He quickly recovered, Nastasia just blankly staring the whole time. Luigi wheezed out, “Sorry, what did you- what did you say?”

Nastasia sighed. “I'm sorry for using you as Mr. L. It was wrong of me.” His tone almost made the apology sound fake, but really he just didn't know what to say. It was a _huge_ blunder, after all.

“Uh.” Luigi paused. “It's fine...? Mario is cool with everyone, so I should be too.” He let out a nervous laugh.

“I think about it a lot, and regret it to no end, just like everything that happened.” Nastasia cut his eyes towards him, but did not move his head. “But I'm happy to say I made friends along the way.”

“I don't really remember anything from when I was Mr. L.” Luigi decided to try and say something lighthearted. “But hey, first you steal my memory, then you steal my bench!”

Nastasia looked down at the ground with a slight frown. He opened his mouth to speak, but soon closed it.

Luigi's blood ran cold. Maybe he shouldn't have tried to make that sound lighthearted. _It's not even my bench! What was I thinking?_ “Hey, s-sorry, I shouldn't have...I mean, I don't really need my memory!”

Nastasia sulked more.

“I'm not good at jokes, sorry, sorry!” Luigi's tone was somewhat panicked.

He perked back up and straightened his back before turning his head towards him. “You shouldn't worry about it, K?” Nastasia looked as if he was never upset in the first place.

Luigi rubbed the back of his head. “Heh, yeah...” He thought for a moment. “How have you been since...since...um, _he_ disappeared?” It didn't feel right to just namedrop him.

Nastasia's eyes widened for a moment, glancing around in every direction. He adjusted his glasses and cleared his throat. “I'm fine. I like to think he's happier now that he's with her.”

They'd all come to believe that he was out there somewhere with her. Existing or not, they were together. It was a comforting thought to many, although there was no way to prove it was true. Out of everyone who knew the Count, Nastasia was the closest to him. It was only natural he was hit the hardest.

“Yeah, Timpani, was it? Tippi's real name?” After these words, Luigi felt a spike of anxiety, wondering if he was speaking too casually about this.

Nastasia's voice was quiet. “...Yes, that's her name.”

Luigi began to speak in a very fast-paced manner. “Yeah, uh, sorry, I probably shouldn't be bringing any of this up. It must have been really hard on you, and it's only been a month! Moving on is hard, especially since they probably didn't die, they're just- they're just not here anymore!” Luigi ran out of breath so he was unable to continue for a moment.

Before he could say anything further, Nastasia let out a short, lighthearted laugh. Luigi had never seen him laugh before, in fact _no one_ had—except maybe the Count. That laugh was cut off soon enough as his face got serious. He placed a hand on his glasses frame, slowly adjusting it. “Have you ever had a job, Luigi?”

“What? Well, um, not really...I've gone on adventures with Mario plenty of times though! That gets us plenty of coins!”

Nastasia smirked, but it seemed rather friendly for a smirk. “I could tell. You don't act nearly professional enough for one.”

Luigi was shocked at the remark, but let out a nervous chuckle anyways. “I'm probably not cut out for anything professional to be honest. I prefer adventures! ...Even if they're super intense and scary.” He wanted to be helpful to his brother, after all.

Nastasia looked up into the sky. “Well, someone has to do that 'job.' Besides, there's plenty of us who fill in the other roles.”

“Have you and the others found any jobs yet?”

“I'm working part time as a secretary, so it's not that different from what I used to do.”

“Minus the hypnotism, right?”

“Yeah, minus the hypnotism.”

“So...what about Mimi and O'Chunks?”

“I believe Mimi is working as a maid for some rich man. She brags about her income occasionally. And O'Chunks...long story short, he can't hold any job around here for long. Mimi and I help him out when he needs it.” He paused. “Now that I think about it, I haven't seen those two in awhile. Maybe a couple of weeks?”

Luigi noticed the concern on his face. He waved his hand. “I'm sure they're fine! They seem very...competent!”

Nastasia merely nodded. Perhaps he should go see both of them again. Mimi did give him vague instructions to the mansion she supposedly worked at, he could probably find it. But with O'Chunks it wouldn;t be that easy, hopefully he'd turn up sooner or later. Or Mimi may have seen him, who knows.

Luigi yawned. How long had he been talking with him? Surely not too long, yet he felt tired. To him, things were still a little awkward, even though conversation started flowing more smoothly. He figured he should excuse himself before he made too big of a mistake in front of Nastasia. He had said some things that upset him earlier, after all...

“I should probably go,” Luigi began. “Mario's probably wondering where I am.” It wasn't late or anything, and nothing important was going on, so this wasn't the best excuse.

“Alright, take care, K?” Nastasia gave a slight smile.

Luigi nodded and walked over to where he came from.

“We should talk again sometime.” Nastasia said.

“Uh, yeah!” Luigi did want to talk more and make amends, he just didn't know how to go about it.

“I'm sure we'll run into each other again at _your_ bench.”

They both frequented it, so it was bound to happen.

Luigi nodded and slipped away, leaving Nastasia to himself. He looked to the ground for awhile, thinking. Then he stood and left as well.

_I really should go see Mimi._


End file.
